Runaway Jury Summons Stars

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By Stax

According to Variety, two-time Oscar-winners Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman are considering supporting roles in the Fox/New Regency legal thriller The Runaway Jury. The Gary Fleder-directed pic is an adaptation of the John Grisham novel. John Cusack will star but Naomi Watts is no longer in the running for the female lead. Runaway follows a "jury foreman in a landmark case against a gun manufacturer."

The trade claims that "Hackman's deal appears imminent, though Hoffman's participation is not yet a certainty." The long-in-development Runaway Jury was once slated to star Edward Norton and Sean Connery and to be directed by Joel Schumacher. Then the project stalled. Interest was later expressed by director Mike Newell and star Will Smith but that deal fell apart, too.

Hackman is no stranger to Grisham film adaptations, having co-starred opposite Tom Cruise in The Firm. Having reviewed a draft of the screenplay, my guess is that he'll portray "Rankin Fitch," a disbarred lawyer who's now deep in the pocket of the gun lobby. Fitch investigates potential jurors and calls the shots from the back room. This was the role that Connery was up for. My gut also tells me that Hoffman might play the plaintiff's attorney "Wendell Rohr," who made his fortune going after Big Tobacco and asbestos companies. Hoffman is also attached to another courtroom drama, Scott Turow's Personal Injuries.

Trivia tidbit: Hackman and Hoffman used to be roommates back before either of them had a career. The circle is now complete...